I read a lot of posts on SIR regarding imminence of results and the expectation of big things to come anticipation of results etc. Yes, I believe there are big things to come. However, let us try to put things in perspective. Sirius is in its very early phases of exploration with an ambitious detailed drilling programme. These programmes command very rigorous meticulous protocols and if carried out professionally (as I'm sure the field crew of Sirius are doing)there are many details that the core has to go through before it is sent to the laboratories for analysis. These processes include the following
1 Diamond drilling:
Despite the fact that drilling equipment is of an advanced quality these days, the holes could require casing down hole surveying, in some cases cementing and care if drilling in broken ground etc. An advance of 50m /12 hour shift would be a good average penetration to expect. So, lets say 100m / rig every 24 hours - ambitiously. These holes are in the range of 350 to 500m long so let us assume a hole takes between 4 to 5 days to complete with everything going smoothly in drilling and weather conditions.
2 Core logging :
The geologist then has to log every metre of this core. The core has to be jigged, orientated in order to record and determine structural characteristics and attitudes such as faults, shears fractures veins etc. Then lithological logging takes place to understand the mode of the mineralisation, alteration and the host rock.Then the core has to be logged geotechnically to determine the rock strength and its characteristics that will be ultimately used in mining operations.The mineralised intervals and part of the host rock envelops have to be measured and marked for assaying and because it is a new province all this work has to be done thoroughly.
3 Photographing and Sample preparation:
To keep proper records every metre of core has to be photographed wet and dry for future reference. The core has to then be cut longitudinally and sent to the laboratories for assay. Because of the importance of the project one would imagine the labs would prioritise the samples and the return on analysis would be relatively quick.
Yes. there are seven or eight rigs operating but they are not all on one prospect. I suspect therefore that a hole would take some 8 to 10 days before it ready for reporting.
This is a rough summary of what the procedure of a drilling programme is like and I think readers will appreciate that core from a drillhole takes quite some time from first rotation to completion and storage. So, let us all not be patient with anticipation of results.
